5. OLD SULTAN

A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old,
and had lost all his teeth. And one day when the shepherd and his wife
were standing together before the house the shepherd said, 'I will
shoot old Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no use now.' But his
wife said, 'Pray let the poor faithful creature live; he has served us
well a great many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the
rest of his days.' 'But what can we do with him?' said the shepherd,
'he has not a tooth in his head, and the thieves don't care for him at
all; to be sure he has served us, but then he did it to earn his
livelihood; tomorrow shall be his last day, depend upon it.'

Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd
and his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to
think tomorrow would be his last day; so in the evening he went to his
good friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his
sorrows, and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. 'Make
yourself easy,' said the wolf, 'I will give you some good advice. Your
master, you know, goes out every morning very early with his wife into
the field; and they take their little child with them, and lay it down
behind the hedge in the shade while they are at work. Now do you lie
down close by the child, and pretend to be watching it, and I will
come out of the wood and run away with it; you must run after me as
fast as you can, and I will let it drop; then you may carry it back,
and they will think you have saved their child, and will be so
thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live.'
The dog liked this plan very well; and accordingly so it was managed.
The wolf ran with the child a little way; the shepherd and his wife
screamed out; but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor
little thing back to his master and mistress. Then the shepherd patted
him on the head, and said, 'Old Sultan has saved our child from the
wolf, and therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have
plenty to eat. Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him
have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives.' So from this
time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for.